


Georgia Peach and Sweet Tea

by spice_coffee



Category: Check Please! (Webcomic)
Genre: M/M, Short One Shot, shameless fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-03
Updated: 2018-09-03
Packaged: 2019-07-06 04:25:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 541
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15878493
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/spice_coffee/pseuds/spice_coffee
Summary: Jack struggles with finding the perfect birthday present for Bitty. He finds inspiration in an unlikely spot during a last-minute trip to the mall...





	Georgia Peach and Sweet Tea

Jack had never understood the appeal of shopping malls. To him they felt like a bizarre kind of purgatory: slightly off-key instrumental music, dim fluorescent lighting, questionable food choices, and a random assortment of stores selling things that no reasonable person would need to buy. You only went there if you were desperate or in need of a distraction – _or,_ Jack ruefully mused, _you forgot to buy something for your boyfriend’s birthday._

After dodging a cell phone salesman and persuading a very insistent beautician that no, he did not in fact need to have his eyebrows threaded, Jack paused in front of the directory and glanced over the shops. Nothing caught his eye, so he sighed and squared up his shoulders with the air of a man about to wade into battle.

Most of the stores seemed to cater either to dowdy suburban housewives or to teenagers with dubious tastes. A quick foray into Hot Topic - a store that claimed to be “all about the music” – proved fruitless, since the selection there had more to do with body jewelry and clothing with mesh inlays. Jack got the distinct feeling that he’d be laughed out of the store if he asked for anything related to Beyoncé, so he trudged back out into the central thoroughfare to resume his search.

_Why did I bother? There’s nothing here –_

Jack had just about resigned himself to the grim idea of buying Bitty a gift card of some kind when an inviting aroma from a nearby shop caused him to look up with sudden hope. He smelled apples and sugar and remembered the seemingly countless times that he’d come back to the Haus to find a freshly baked pie cooling on the counter. But then Jack saw the name of the shop – _Bath & Body Works? _A glance through the store windows showed shelf after shelf of neatly arranged bottles and jars.

Brief, irrational panic turned Jack’s nerves to ice when he thought about Bitty’s potential reaction to getting body wash for his birthday. _He’s going to think that I’m saying he doesn’t shower enough, right? But it’s this or a gift card, and I’m running out of time._ With this in mind, Jack shored up his resolve and strode through the open door.

A clerk saw him walk in and greeted him with a sunny smile. “Can I help you find anything, sir?”

“Uh, no. Thanks.” _Unless you’ve got any idea how to shop for a boyfriend who de-stresses by baking enough food to feed a small army._

It took Jack a few minutes to find the scents that had first caught his attention. Madagascar Vanilla and Country Apple had both seemed promising from a distance, but at close personal range they turned cloying and altogether unappealing.

Grumbling quietly in resignation, Jack sought out the clerk. “Sorry to bother you, but do you have something that’s not so… intense? Sweet, but not overpowering.”

The clerk grinned. “I’ve got just the thing.” She pulled a tester bottle from a shelf that she’d just finished stocking and held it out to Jack. “It’s a new scent – Georgia Peach and Sweet Tea.”

Jack opened the tester and took a quick whiff. He smiled. “I think this’ll do just fine.”

**Author's Note:**

> Written earlier this year as a super-quick ficlet for a lovely friend based on a list of prompts... I went with "Jack/Bitty + soap." Short works aren't my usual, but I think this one turned out pretty well. I may have spent a little bit too long browsing through the Bath & Body Works product catalogue, too, but I have no regrets.


End file.
